Preeme’s body dissolved as they watched. Within minutes, it was as though Preeme had never been, and Jess rubbed her face. She’d never had a first day like that. How could she go back to normal classes? How could she pretend to be regular ever again?
A clatter at the top of the stairs sent the pearl-monkeys scurrying away, leaving an oppressive silence behind them. She blew out the oil lamp and summoned a small flame to light her way back.
Her footsteps echoed in the cavern. Jess tugged the phone from her back pocket to check the time. The end of school had come and gone. Her parents would be expecting her any moment. She held the device up.
No service. Funny how she hadn’t thought of it once during the whole of her detention. She had an electronic flashlight. She could have run back to the upstairs to call for help. Who would have believed her?
Nobody but Rase… and maybe her parents. She didn’t care anymore that he’d forgotten to mention the scholarship. He had to have a reason. She had so much she needed to tell him.
Jess crossed to the stairs. This time, beneath them, she noticed a tall stack of desks. A radiation sticker adhered to the surface of each one. The student seating had to be at least sixty years old. Had the stickers been instructions or vandalism? Had they been there since before the cellar troll? So many questions.
She climbed the stairs, slipped through the door, and into the abandoned hall, devoid of students and teachers. She closed the door behind her. She glanced up and down the corridors. At the far end, the maintenance man mopped. When he noticed Jess, he straightened.
Jess sighed. When she turned back to retrieve the brass key, the weathered plank door had disappeared—key and all. A regular door, identical to the others in the school, remained in its place.
“Good grief. I say,” the janitor called. “Who gave you permission to be down there? It’s dangerous.”
“You have no idea,” she muttered.
He lifted his mop and jogged toward her.
She waited. “I had detention.”
“Down there?”
She shrugged.
“You have dried blood on your head, too. You need help with that?”
Jess reached for the place the stockpot struck her. Some parts still felt sticky. “No, I’ll get cleaned up.”
“You sure?”
Jess nodded. “Please don’t tell anyone. I was swinging on the rafters down there. I bumped my head on those old desks near the stairs.” She raised her hand. “But I’m fine. Don’t get me in trouble. Please.”
The janitor sighed. “Not my circus. Not my monkeys.” He stopped beside her and leaned on his mop, his face pinched in a scowl. “Who told you to go down there?”
“Ms. Hazel.”
“Not likely.”
Jess bit her cheek, bit her tongue, and then her lip. “Well, I wouldn’t go down there on my own, would I?” The question still slipped out, and she crossed her arms.
“I’m sure I do not know,” he said, his expression hard as granite on an icy day. “But you shouldn’t be here.”
“Then I’ll go.”
“See that you do.” He scurried back to where he’d been mopping.
Jess made her way toward the exit, by way of her locker. She visited the bathroom on her way out. She cleaned her face and hair as well as she could.
Before she stepped out of the school, her phone trilled in the haunting tones of Greensleeves. Rase had texted. She’d assigned her favorite melody to him. She swiped the notification and read the missive.
Jess, I need your help.
Chapter Eight
To the Rescue
Several thuds echoed down the hall, like coconuts dropping from a tree and rolling across the floor.
“Where is the stranger, Hobson?” a shrill voice demanded. “I smell him. I want to look him over.”
Blackfox increased his pace, and the students had to jog after him to keep up.
Without slowing, Rase sniffed his shirt but smelled nothing. He’d showered that morning, so body odor couldn’t be it. Had he used too much body spray? His mom complained about that sometimes, muttering about teenaged boys and their unfounded belief that a concoction of chemicals had everything to do with their attractiveness.
Murmuring voices came from the end of the corridor. Finally, they drew close enough to make out more words.
“I’m sure he’ll be here any moment,” Hobson intoned in his ever-calm voice.
The small group entered the formal foyer, and Hobson left without a word as though he was accustomed to such entrances. The crystal chandelier lit the space, casting light spots over the polished wood molding. The sky behind burned in reds and oranges.
Just inside the threshold, Professor Timefix cleared her throat and scrunched her nose. She scanned the small group until her gaze rested on Rase. Then she stared at Rase over the top rim of her glasses. Brightly colored fabric bags filled the floor around her. Fruits and vegetables spilled out.
Her frizzy brown hair stuck out in all directions, but the length rested on the top of her head in a tight bun. Pens, pencils, and feathers made the mound of hair resemble a pin cushion. The way the light caught Timefix’s flyaways, her hair reminded Rase of the halo around religious figures in old paintings. Blackfox and the other three students stood to the side, and Rase stood directly in the middle.
Timefix pinched her chin between her finger and thumb. She tipped her head one way and then the other away. “Hmm. Interesting,” she said.
Rase tipped his head to the side. “What’s interesting?” He paused. “If I might ask.”
She placed a pair of opera glasses on her nose. She blinked once and the lenses extended until they resembled a microscope. She blinked again and the magnification increased even more. “He has an interesting aura about him, doesn’t he? Colonel?”
Rase stared at the odd woman. “Does she always glare like that?”
Kumiko giggled, and Freya elbowed her. Roger stood as still as a statue.
“You know how it goes,” Blackfox answered. “Rase is as unique as the others.”
“But the others have other useful skills.”
Rase glanced between them. “What does that mean?”
Blackfox gestured to the others. “Most of our students have animal communication as a secondary talent. Their main talents are more…” He paused. “How shall I say it?”
Timefix tapped her foot. “Impressive. The other skills are more impressive, dear.” She looked him over once more. “I don’t sense anything more than your telepathy.”
Rase gestured toward the three behind me. “They do other stuff?”
Timefix shoved thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Every single one of them.” She crossed her arms, her expression smug.
Blackfox shook his head at her. “Possessing two talents has never been a prerequisite.”
Rase frowned as the three other students shifted from side to side, possibly made uncomfortable by the attention. The quiet girl appeared at the top of the stairs, her hand on the banister, watching with interest as the scene unfolded. What could her extra talent be?
Blackfox gestured to them. “Why don’t you three wash for our dinner.” They filed from the room. The quiet girl didn’t budge.
Rase’s scowl deepened. “Why am I here?”
“Because you belong here with the other students.”
“I have no other special skill.” I shouldn’t be here at all. Maybe he had known it all along.
Blackfox sighed. “Rase, your other talents won’t be magical. They don’t have to be.”
“What do you mean?”
“Timefix cannot sense charisma.”
She snorted.
Blackfox went on, “She cannot sense steadfastness. If you’re a natural leader, Timefix cannot sense that ability, but it will be sorely needed as we grow. Yes, the other students, as a rule, have more than one magical talent. You are not them.”
“Who am I?”
Blackfox squee
zed Rase’s shoulder, the warmth surprisingly welcome. “You are you, Rase. That is enough of a reason to be here.”
Rase’s shoulders drooped. He itched for something to do. He thought best with busy hands. Anything to alleviate the charge in the room. He reached for the spilled groceries and returned them to the reusable bags. Blackfox crouched beside him, scooping coconuts into the tote nearest him.
Silently, Timefix joined them. Other than the rustle of groceries in fabric, no one made a sound. Rase’s thoughts ran ahead. He still had a plan, and he still meant to act on it. He had to meet Jess tomorrow morning. He had to find a way to get her into the school, even though the parameters had changed. But if the other students had two talents, maybe she did, too.
Rase placed the last vegetable into the last bag. Blackfox and Timefix scooped them up and left, murmuring to one another.
Rase closed the front door, his mind decided. If Jess probably had two talents, she deserved to attend more than he did.
Rase would offer his scholarship spot at the Creature Caretaker Academy. Surely, Blackfox would respect Rase’s decision. Then he could return home and attend New Haven High, freeing Jess from the school she hated.
Rase followed the two professors to the dining room. Belonging on his mind.
Friday Morning
Rase waited behind the front door, staring through the wavy glass. He checked his pockets once more, groping for his wallet with his life savings crammed into it. The sun wasn’t up yet. The darkness assisted the stealth, but he hadn’t quite figured out how to sneak out with the psy-vine out there.
Were students allowed to leave? That had never been made clear.
He pressed his nose to the glass. There wasn’t another way out. The upstairs windows had been sealed shut, and the clairvoyant ivy the only way down. No doubt, after a brief conference call, Hobson would sound the alarm.
It didn’t have arms that he could see. Only an eyeball. It wouldn’t be able to stop him with an eyeball. Vines didn’t count, did they?
It could be asleep. He smoothed his hand over the glass, his fingers splayed wide, trying to listen for plant-y dreams. Plants slept at night, right? He got nothing.
Rase could make a run for it. He could sprint faster than an eyeball on a vineyard arm. If fraternization made it easier for it to read thoughts, perhaps it didn’t know Rase well enough yet. It could only sense the strong intent of strangers.
The sun wasn’t up yet, but the car was supposed to meet him at the end of the drive, near the gate. He took a deep breath and opened the door, bracing for the long squeak that always came with sneaking, but the hinge made no noise at all.
Maybe luck was on his side.
Rase stepped out and eased the door closed behind him. Inside the house, through the wavy glass, a figure moved, and Rase peered through. At the top of the stairs, the quiet girl watched from the top stair, her eyes wide as they would go, her hand pressed over her mouth.
She might be his only witness. Rase should have gotten to know her, should have told her about his lifetime best friend. As it was, he couldn’t depend on her silence.
Rase grasped the door latch, contemplating sneaking back in. The girl stared, and he chewed on his bottom lip. Was Jess worth getting kicked out of the C.C.A.?
He released the handle. Jess was. Definitely. He intended to relinquish his spot to her anyway. Easier to beg forgiveness than ask for permission.
Rase waved at her and descended to the gravel drive. He jogged away from the manor. Birds twittered in the tree, and startled rabbits darted across the lawn. No alarms blared. The eyeball didn’t drop on his head, and Hobson didn’t appear.
All he had to do was get Jess to save a testy gryphon in downtown New Haven. How hard could it be? He scratched his chin. What was a gryphon anyway?
He bolted toward the tree line. He didn’t slow down until he reached the tree trunks, the overgrowth thick. He selected a deer path that led down the hill, the way growing more and more overgrown as he went.
He hurried until he reached a low stone wall and followed it southward until he reached the driveway once more. Outside the gate, parked on the side of the road, a Mini Cooper waited.
Rase glanced over his shoulder and held his breath, listening between heartbeats. His subterfuge must have worked. No one chased him.
Rase strolled out of the gate and climbed into the back seat of the Mini Cooper. He gave Jess’s address, and they sped away from the Academy. Then he gave the driver the name of the church. Our Lady of the Park.
“Do you know how to get there?”
“Yes, yes,” he said. “I will take. I know where. Good church.”
Settling in for the half-hour ride to Jess’s house, he retrieved his cell phone and punched the word gryphon into the search bar.
Forty-five minutes later, Jess scowled at him from the other side of the backseat.
Rase pointed to her seatbelt. “Need coffee?”
She shook her head. “Had some.”
An awkward silence filled the car as they jetted away from Jess’s house. “You’re probably wondering why I texted.”
She buckled in. “You said you needed help.”
“That’s true.”
“Well, it better be good. I’m skipping a meeting with the principal for you.”
Rase winced. “The principal? Your first day went that badly?”
“I set my backpack on fire and spent the day in detention.” A shadow crossed her face. “Apparently, I now catch on fire when I’m furious. It was a helluva first day.”
“Sounds like.”
More awkward silence.
“What’s going on, Rase? Shouldn’t you be getting ready for your new life?”
Her words held a bite that Rase hadn’t expected, and he sighed. He should have expected it. “They haven’t started yet. That’s what I need to talk to you about anyway.”
She studied her phone, resting in her lap.
Rase took a deep breath. “I need you to help me help you.”
That brought her chin up. “What?”
“I know how much you hate high school, and I think we can get you into a new school.”
“How are you going to do that? You know how my parents feel about private schools.”
Rase lifted his hands. “All we have to do is get you to remember how to talk to animals.”
Her mouth fell open. “Have you lost your mind? You know I’m not allowed to do that anymore.”
“Hear me out,” he said. How badly could he botch everything?
The car came to a halt in front of a multi-spired gothic church, and Jess fumbled with the handle until she yanked so hard Rase thought she might rip it off the door.
“You should have never come,” Jess said. Then she tumbled out of the car and spilled onto the sidewalk.
“Jess,” Rase called. “Hear me out. Please?” Rase threw a handful of bills at the driver and jumped out to follow Jess.
But, when he came around the car, she wasn’t a block down the street like he expected. She stood, still as a statue, staring up toward the flat part of the church roof. Stone figures peered down at them.
“What is it?” Rase asked.
“It’s hurt,” Jess whispered, her chin quivering.
Rase scowled. “I don’t sense anything.”
“It’s not injured.”
“Then what—”
“Someone murdered its kits and then stranded it in this realm.” She spoke as though it had spoken to her. She hadn’t lost her skill at all. She’d hidden it away. For what reason, Rase couldn’t fathom.
It made them different. It made them special.
Rase took a step backward to stare at the top of the church, shocked by her words. “What should we do?”
Jess turned toward me, and her eyes glittered like campfires. “What we came to do: help it.”
Rase shoved his hand through his hair. “So, how do we get up there?”
But Jess had already ran around
the side of the building. A small sign in the flowerbeds read Office and pointed the way she had gone.
When Rase reached the corner, Jess rang the old-fashioned doorbell, fastened to the side of the building, by twisting the knob. She rang it again, her mouth stretched in a smile. “Do you see this? I saw one of these on an old show my mother watches. I’ve never seen one in real life.”
Rase chuckled. Jess had gone from furious to ecstatic in record time. He liked her better like this, and he wanted to jump up and down anyway. She still communicated with animals. With her nifty fire trick, she was a shoo-in for the C.C.A.
Even if it meant Rase had to give up his own place there. He drooped a little at the thought, but he pushed the feelings aside. Jess needed to go. She hated New Haven High. She couldn’t stand the cliques. She needed to be able to explore her powers.
Still giddy, Jess rang the bell once more. Shuffling came from the other side of the door. Jess reached for the bell again.
“That’s enough,” Rase whispered, shoving her hand away.
“I bet, if you ask them, they’ll let you try it before we leave.”
“Jess,” Rase started, but the door opened a crack.
A moment later, a dark-haired pregnant woman appeared at the door. She stepped out onto the small porch, scowling. “What are you kids doing?”
Rase pointed at the roof. “Watching gargoyles.” He grunted when Jess hissed and then jabbed her elbow into his ribs.
The woman crossed her arms and leaned on the doorjamb. “Watching, huh?”
“Yeah. What else would we be doing?”
She snorted and then strode down to where Rase and Jess stood. “Do you think I was born yesterday?”
“Uh…” Rase swallowed. “Well… What I mean to say is…”
“No, ma’am,” Jess said.
“We’re not quite as gullible as you think we are.” She turned to Jess. “I sense something in you. You’re kind of a big deal, aren’t you?”
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